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Vol. 132 Number 43 PORT PERRY, ONTARIO - TUESDAY, SEPT. 15, 1998 COPY 65¢ iv. wn, 28 Pages Start looking for tax bills in early October By Chris Hall Port Perry Star It will probably be the beginning of October before Scugog residents see their tax bills, says township treasurer Kathy McCann. Thanks to a number of changes introduced by the provincial government, 1998 tax bills have been months late, said Ms McCann. Final adjustments are currently being made before bills are sent out in the mail. "It looks like it'll be near the end of September -- maybe earlier, maybe later," Ms McCann said last week. It had been hoped tax bills would be out by the middle of this month, but the adjustments have taken longer than anticipated, said the treasurer. "Right now we're in the middle of calculating the phase-ins and making changes to the software for the assessments," said Ms McCann. The tax system has been radically altered, she said: "The changes are all over the map for this year; there have been so many of them. "Assessments have gone up and down; there's been the downloading from the government; changes to the education portion of the bill; and the business tax has been eliminated so now the commercial and industrial owners have to pick that up. There are a lot of things in the pie." Continued on page 16 Road Watch program starts By Chris Hall Port Perry Star Durham Regional Police and the residents of Scugog have teamed up in an effort to make the township's streets safer. With the official launch of Road Watch Friday morning (Sept. 11), organizers are hoping to bring about an improvement in the way motorists behave on Scugog's roads. The program, which originated in the Caledon area about five years ago, is a partnership between the Durham Regional Police, Ontario Provincial Police, and the citizens of the town- ship, says committee chair Janet Vendrig. "One year ago we held a town meeting to dis- cuss the problems and solutions for dangerous driving in Scugog," she said during the launch in Palmer Park. "The onus was on the police to do all they Continued on page 11 JEFF MITCHELL / PORT PERRY STAR FIRING STRIKES: Port Perry's Mark Goreski fires a pitch toward the plate Saturday afternoon during his team's meeting with Cobourg. There was plenty of action during the weekend as Port hosted the Eastern Canadian Intermediate B Fastball championship, and the local boys held their own, beating Quebec and Woodstock before losing a 4-0 decision in the tilt with Cobourg. They also beat New Brunswick, 3-1. Teachers' strike into 2nd week Local school boards are frustrated with Johnson"s tactics By Jeff Mitchell Port Perry Star As the strike by Durham high school teachers enters its second week, Scugog's trustees are expressing frustration with the actions of the provincial government. Education Minister Dave Johnson has scuttled a couple of opportunities to make headway in the ongoing dispute, said Bobbie Drew, Scugog's trustee on the Durham District Board of Education and a member of the board's negotiating committee. "It's like playing a card game and the rules change all the time," said Mrs. Drew Monday morning. "He keeps changing the rules." Durham Catholic District School Board trustee Kathy LeFort, chair of her board's negotiating committee, agreed that the province has in some instances hindered boards here and across the province as they try to reach collective agreements with teachers. She said Mr. Johnson has stepped in a number of times -- to define what constitutes instructional time, to defer imposition of increased classroom time requirements for teachers, and to reject Catholic teachers' request to increase the average class- room size of 22 students as a way of handling the extra workload -- and has done more harm than good for negotiations. | The result has been to define the province's stance on key issues after proposals were put on the table, said Mrs. LeFort. "I wish he had done that a couple of months ago, rather than in the middle of negotiations," she said. Mrs. Drew said the intrusion by the province has helped to prolong a strike by the public high school teachers, who hit the Bobbie Drew Kathy LeFort Continued on page 14 'NAPOLEON: FIREPLACES NATURAL GAS PROPANE * WOOD ° OIL Celebrate "Overridge's" 15th Anniversary with Savings! A TIMELESS 2 IN 1 GAS STOVE: * Maximum 44,000 BTU's * User-friendly controls * Advanced high-tech, triple-burner effect for those colder days and nights * Ideal for easy wood or pellet stove replacement AST TN TT CE SRS 3 ae 3 2% 8 O REOUIR {5 operation. even during power failures 180 Casimir St., oh PORT PERRY OVERRIDES Fireplace Warehouse Queen §t N IZ } 2 Casimir St & g ®* |» 177) g Hwy. 7A 23S)